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Brent futures were up 52 cents, or 0.56%, at $93.82 a barrel by
0933 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures
rose by 73 cents, or 0.81%, to $90.36 a barrel.
Both benchmarks were on track for a small weekly drop after
gaining more than 10% in the previous three weeks amid concerns
about tight global supply as the Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) maintain production cuts.
"Trading remained choppy amid a tug-of-war between supply fears
that were reinforced by a Russian ban on fuel exports and
worries over slower demand due to tighter monetary policies in
the United States and Europe," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst
at Fujitomi Securities Co Ltd.
Russia's Transneft suspended deliveries of diesel to the key
Baltic and Black Sea terminals of Primorsk and Novorossiysk on
Friday, state media agency Tass said.
Russia temporarily banned exports of gasoline and diesel to all
countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with
immediate effect to stabilize the domestic fuel market, the
government said on Thursday.
But macroeconomic headwinds continue to weigh on oil demand
sentiment.
"It is signals on the demand side that are mainly likely to
affect oil prices in the short term," Commerzbank analysts said
in a note.
The euro zone economy is likely to contract in the third
quarter, according to Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data
released on Friday.
A contraction in UK economic activity deepened further in
September compared to August, additional PMI data showed.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday maintained interest rates,
but stiffened its hawkish stance, buoying fears that higher
rates could dampen economic growth.
HSBC on Friday raised its Brent price forecast to $90 a barrel
for the fourth quarter and $82.50 for 2024 due to record Chinese
demand and a prediction that Saudi Arabia's voluntary production
cuts will stay in place until the second quarter of 2024.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Emily Chow in
Singapore; Editing by Michael Perry, Stephen Coates, Tom Hogue
and Jan Harvey)
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